ETL bottling date? 12?

When my girlfriend was on a delivery today she stopped by a store and called me... I asked her to grab some ETL for $25, seemed fair and I need a bottle anyways. When she was looking at "dates" she said there was 09, 09, 04, 04, 03 and 12. All the bottles look the same, the numbers I would assume are dates as that seems reasonable...

But 12? Why on earth is one random bottle "12"

Everything else looks exactly the same, just in place of a date is "12" and it's certainly not 1912... maybe 2012 from the future...

Re: ETL bottling date? 12?

Originally Posted by Joshua

When my girlfriend was on a delivery today she stopped by a store and called me... I asked her to grab some ETL for $25, seemed fair and I need a bottle anyways. When she was looking at "dates" she said there was 09, 09, 04, 04, 03 and 12. All the bottles look the same, the numbers I would assume are dates as that seems reasonable...

But 12? Why on earth is one random bottle "12"

Everything else looks exactly the same, just in place of a date is "12" and it's certainly not 1912... maybe 2012 from the future...

What was she looking at? The bottom of the bottle? Dating by bottle bottom embossing can be useful, but it doesn't always work. If something seems anomalous, it probably is. Even when the dates seem reasonable, it could just be a coincidence.

For example, I have a bottle of the special 90th birthday edition, which I know was just bottled, but the bottom says "08."

You'd like to think distilleries, as well run outfits, are FIFO on their supplies such as glass, but maybe they aren't. Could an 04 bottled have been filled in 08? Absolutely.

Since ETL is a single barrel, not an annual small batch release like Stagg, the "vintage" is of little significance anyway. Every bottle is a roll of the dice, but I've never tasted a bad one.

Re: ETL bottling date? 12?

She was looking at the bottom of the bottle embossing. Which of course, like you said is true about it not telling what exactly is inside. That's also why I found it so strange to see a "12" on there when the other bottles appeared to have dates.

At the end of the day, the juice inside is what matters. If it tastes greats then I'm a happy man... however it always sparks my curiosity when something is different then the others. I'll have some tonight, and let you all know if it is indeed from 2012. Perhaps Mr Lee has found a way to make time travel possible, going to the distant future and discovering secrets about aging. That would explain why he appears to be doing so dang well at 90, AND why this bourbon is is from 3 years out. You say anomaly, I say time travel proof.

Re: ETL bottling date? 12?

Originally Posted by Joshua

When my girlfriend was on a delivery today she stopped by a store and called me... I asked her to grab some ETL for $25, seemed fair and I need a bottle anyways. When she was looking at "dates" she said there was 09, 09, 04, 04, 03 and 12. All the bottles look the same, the numbers I would assume are dates as that seems reasonable...

But 12? Why on earth is one random bottle "12"

Everything else looks exactly the same, just in place of a date is "12" and it's certainly not 1912... maybe 2012 from the future...

I think those are the month they made them. It is a quality tracking activity normally when it is by month or less.

Re: ETL bottling date? 12?

Never? For any manufacturers? Or specifically for ETL? Some glass producers must emboss some form of date on their bottoms. There are too many match-ups for it to be a coincidence.

Does a mold number allow a bottle to be traced back to a particular, singular mold for that bottle style?

I am just speaking about the ETL bottle. You are correct that some glass makers put years and/or months or production lines. Some makers put different things on different bottles.
For the second quesiton, yes. If we run into bad glass the mold number can sometimes be used to find a mold that is wearing out or used to sort out bad glass. Although it is infrequent and the glass suppliers do a good job.